Qantas Upgrades - Successes or Failures (post results)

Recent experience with QF through Japan:

04/01: QF59 SYD-HND. Applied for Y to J upgrades across 2 separate PNRs.
* Mr GO + 1 child rejected (at SG)
* Mrs Go + 1 child (at PS, on separate PNR) also rejected.

We did get to move right to the front of the Y cabin once the inventory across C, D, I and J classes ran down, so all was not lost.

13/01: QF26 HND-SYD. Applied for Y to PE/J upgrades. Mrs GO (QF PS) + 1 child were successfully upgraded from Y to PE, at T-24.

17/01: QF26 HND-SYD. Applied for Y to PE/J upgrades. Mr GO (QF SG) + 1 child were successfully upgraded from Y to J, at T-24.
 
Partial success

20/1 QF93 MEL - LAX
Economy -> PE at T-21 as a WP

J upgrade still remains elusive after 10ish attempts.

Seems much harder post COVID even with the A380's return. There were 9+ J seats available 24 hours ago. I wonder if their policies have changed.
 
Partial success

20/1 QF93 MEL - LAX
Economy -> PE at T-21 as a WP

J upgrade still remains elusive after 10ish attempts.

Seems much harder post COVID even with the A380's return. There were 9+ J seats available 24 hours ago. I wonder if their policies have changed.
Still F2 showing, some in J may get bumped up and.. well you never know. Good luck!
 
Still F2 showing, some in J may get bumped up and.. well you never know. Good luck!
That would be interesting. I've never had a gate upgrade once an original upgrade went trough.

I've also regularly noticed multiple unused J seats with when disembarking. I guess they could be inoperable. Would love to know more about the dark art of QF upgrade policy.
 
QF11 Thurs 25/1 Y+ to J upgrade requested.
Upgrade cleared on Monday night (22/1) based on EF seat alert time, found it when I took my phone off flight mode this morning.

That flight is still showing I9 in EF, or it was this morning.
 
Silver, SYD-SCL for 3pax, unsuccesful request for J but took the Premiun Economy option. Confirmed PE 24hrs before flight. Very happy with Qantas PE product, esp the bulkhead row. Felt more like J minus the PJs and lie flat bed :D i wouldnt hestitate booking their award PE if no J available in the future!
 
Y+ upgrade on QF22 DFW-MEL today as a WP

Notified T-20

Got seat 20D which has good legroom, however to rub salt in the wound, 12A J seat was empty next row in front of me.

Qantas continue to be stingy with J upgrades since COVID
 
Equi
QF11 Thurs 25/1 Y+ to J upgrade requested.
Upgrade cleared on Monday night (22/1) based on EF seat alert time, found it when I took my phone off flight mode this morning.

That flight is still showing I9 in EF, or it was this morning.
Equipment swap to OQL the morning of the flight took a slight shine off the upgrade - or was it perhaps better to be in J than Y+ on that old bird?? 😉🤣
 
Has anyone in the know every figured out what the average or rule of thumb is for the average number of upgrade requests that are submitted per flight ? e.g. for a weekday 737 flight between BNE / SYD /MEL - how many average upgrade requests do they get per flight? how many of those are WP ? etc etc or a standard SYD-LAX flight, that type of thing

Would be interesting to know so that you can match your odds against the number of available seats showing.....
 
Partial success

20/1 QF93 MEL - LAX
Economy -> PE at T-21 as a WP

J upgrade still remains elusive after 10ish attempts.

Seems much harder post COVID even with the A380's return. There were 9+ J seats available 24 hours ago. I wonder if their policies have changed.
The last few times I've flown SYD-LAX/LAX-SYD, I have only been successful with Y > PE, even though J has been showing 9+ 24 hours out.

I'm wondering if all PE > J upgrades get processed first, regardless of status. Had quite liked my chances 48 hours out as a WP in Y with 9+ in J showing on expertflyer, but not to be...
 
W->J would be assessed as priority within each status level due to the higher fare paid (and if a W is bumped to J, they can uograde Y into.it potentially).

However it is still within status priority. A NB in PE will not outrank a P1 in Y.
 
However it is still within status priority. A NB in PE will not outrank a P1 in Y.
Would a SG in W outrank a P in Y?

On prob ~3 flights in the last 6 months there has been 9+ in J, 72 hours out, which is apparently when P can receive upgrades... however, when I've been unsuccessful for J and only received the W upgrade, the upgrade has come through ~20 hours out... which to me indicates they've waited until SG or PS upgrades from W have been processed first.
 
Would a SG in W outrank a P in Y?

On prob ~3 flights in the last 6 months there has been 9+ in J, 72 hours out, which is apparently when P can receive upgrades... however, when I've been unsuccessful for J and only received the W upgrade, the upgrade has come through ~20 hours out... which to me indicates they've waited until SG or PS upgrades from W have been processed first.
I am sure the algorithm has nuances to it and I am unsure but I would say this - the "windows" for when upgrades can be available from (ie 7 days for P1, 3 days for WP etc) are one part of the equation, the other part being the release of seats for upgrade. On busy flighrs, that may not actually happen til much closer to flight ie within 24 hours). I am fairly certain though that when seats are released into upgrade buckets, eg P, U and Z(depending on cabins on the service of course), that the processing still works on, broadly speaking, Status than Fare.
 
Turn business expenses into Business Class! Process $10,000 through pay.com.au to score 20,000 bonus PayRewards Points and join 30k+ savvy business owners enjoying these benefits:

- Pay suppliers who don’t take Amex
- Max out credit card rewards—even on government payments
- Earn & Transfer PayRewards Points to 8+ top airline & hotel partners

AFF Supporters can remove this and all advertisements

QF10 LHR - PER Feb 5: Y->J Unsuccessful, Y->Y+ successful at T-20.

I managed to get the J seat on this trip last year so I was hopeful again this time around, but that text just kept on not coming! Ah well, W is still more comfortable.
 

Become an AFF member!

Join Australian Frequent Flyer (AFF) for free and unlock insider tips, exclusive deals, and global meetups with 65,000+ frequent flyers.

AFF members can also access our Frequent Flyer Training courses, and upgrade to Fast-track your way to expert traveller status and unlock even more exclusive discounts!

AFF forum abbreviations

Wondering about Y, J or any of the other abbreviations used on our forum?

Check out our guide to common AFF acronyms & abbreviations.
Back
Top